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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25246180">The Desire</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/MajesticPurpleCupCake/pseuds/MajesticPurpleCupCake'>MajesticPurpleCupCake</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Cardcaptor Sakura</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Awkward Sexual Situations, Blushing, F/M, First Kiss, Kissing</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 04:49:15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>5,578</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25246180</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/MajesticPurpleCupCake/pseuds/MajesticPurpleCupCake</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>One-shot where Sakura opened the book of Clow and met Syaoran when she was in high school. Takes place during the Clow Card arc, but they’re already on a first-name basis, dancing around their feelings. </p><p>Sakura and Syaoran are walking home together when a passing thought catches the attention of a new card and results in them getting closer than ever before—literally.</p><p>Or</p><p>Sakura imagines Syaoran being assertive outside of battle, and a passing Clow Card decides to take control of him and force them to make out.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Kinomoto Sakura/Li Syaoran</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>71</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>The Desire</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I wrote this on a whim and wanted to get it out before Syaoran’s birthday ended, so sorry if I missed some stuff in editing. It makes me sad that there aren’t more SxS stories here on AO3, so here’s a contribution. I did the best I could to write them in-character, despite the nature of the fic. Hope you like it! And, of course, happy birthday, Syaoran!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It was all the card’s fault, if ‘fault’ was even the word to use. Neither of the two magically sensitive high schoolers saw it coming. One minute, they were awkwardly flirting on their way home from school, and the next, they were pressed up against one another, kissing in the middle of the sidewalk.</p><p>The day started out as normal as any day before Sakura had opened the book of Clow. There hadn’t been a card sighting in over a week, and it was affecting everyone differently. Usually, they were running across town every two to three days. Syaoran found the calm to be unsettling. He’d started commenting as much whenever he asked Sakura if she’d felt anything, only to be given the brief answer of, “No, nothing yet.” Meanwhile, Tomoyo was anxious for an excuse to put Sakura into another one of her designs. Kero was arguably the calmest about it all. He didn’t question it at all, and when Sakura had brought it up in passing, he’d shrugged it off, not really offering much of an explanation beyond, “It is what it is; everything happens for a reason; in due time.” Sakura was doing her best to be patient, but it would be a lie if she said she didn’t miss the excitement of it all. The cards gave her an excuse to spend time with Syaoran and Tomoyo outside of school, even if it was to chase down potentially dangerous magical forces. Tomoyo’s antics made her feel like the heroine of an epic story, and whenever she fought alongside Syaoran, she felt like there was nothing they wouldn’t be able to handle together. Then there was Kero to remind her that everything she was doing was making a difference.</p><p>“Keroberos still hasn’t offered any sort of explanation?” Syaoran asked.</p><p>Sakura shook her head, a troubled look darkening her face. “He’s been acting like everything is normal. I can’t tell if we’re worrying over nothing or if something big is coming that he’s not willing to tell us about.”</p><p>Syaoran had been thinking similarly. There always seemed to be a lull before a big change in his life. During the entire month prior to Sakura opening the book of Clow, all of Hong Kong had felt silent. Not in terms of noise but magic. The city where Syaoran was born and raised was filled with all sorts of magic: everything from cursed artifacts to mythical creatures to full-fledged (albeit low-tier) magicians. Magic was a large part of Syaoran’s life, even then, so the when the streets seemed to suddenly be devoid of all magic—even from magical passersby—he was rightfully concerned. This sudden absence of Clow Cards made him jittery as well.</p><p>“I suppose all we can do is wait. Your rashinban still isn’t showing anything?”</p><p>Syaoran shook his head, lips pursed in a thin line. Sakura sighed, and they continued down the path. School had just let out, so they were walking home together. Tomoyo stayed behind for music club, but Syaoran and Sakura’s club activities had been canceled for the week due to a recent snowstorm that rendered all outdoor physical activities impossible until the snow and ice melted away. Competitive, in-season sports were given the gym in the meantime. As a result, the trio-turned-unlikely-duo had been walking home together. Sakura offered at the beginning of the week after watching Syaoran almost face-plant when he’d lost his footing on the ice.</p><p>“I don’t need help,” he’d insisted, even while clutching the wall for support.</p><p>“Come on, Syaoran. You’re being stubborn again,” Sakura teased. Syaoran had been easily embarrassed for as long as Sakura had known him. At first, he’d masked it with snippy remarks and angry retorts, but as they’d grown closer, the frequency of his bad moods had significantly lessened. Even less often was when they were directed at Sakura. It had only happened once since they switched to a first-name basis two months back. Sakura had pushed herself too hard to capture a card while she was already sick, and Syaoran went off at her for not taking care of herself. She’d passed out after capturing the card, and the worried boy had to carry her home. When she returned to school a few days later and apologized for worrying him, he felt so guilty about it all that he spent the entire day moping about after her.</p><p>Even though he wasn’t resorting to anger and cruelty as a means of defense anymore, Sakura still refused to let him push her away, so she’d grabbed his arm in hers and hauled him away from the wall. Again, he claimed he could walk on his own. And again, he almost fell. Sakura was the only thing that kept him upright. He stopped complaining after that.</p><p>As a result, they happened to be walking arm-in-arm to Syaoran’s apartment this particular afternoon.</p><p>“You know,” Syaoran started. This was his chance. Now or never! “I was thinking that since it’s been so quiet, this would be the perfect time for you to practice some of the more technical aspects of magic.” He avoided looking directly into her eyes as he said this. He felt ridiculous saying it aloud, and he hadn’t even gotten around to suggesting he be the one to show her.</p><p>Sakura’s face lit up. It was perfect! She’d be able to use her magic and spend time with Syaoran—assuming he was offering. In her excitement, she trotted ahead and stopped in front of him. He came to a startled stop as well. “That’s a great idea! Would you be willing to show me?”</p><p>Well, that had been even easier than he thought it would be. In all honestly, the idea came from him trying to think of any thinly veiled excuse to spend more time with her. He kept his outward reaction schooled to look merely satisfied as opposed to the blushing, excited mess he felt like inside.</p><p>Sakura, on the other hand, didn’t bother to hide her elation. She grinned up at him. Syaoran always knew how to make her feel better. It was one of the things she adored about him.</p><p>“Thank you, Syaoran!” Then she giggled. “Do you remember when we first met? You bullied me for not knowing enough about the fundamentals of magic, and now you’re offering to teach me.”</p><p>Syaoran’s face got a nice dusting of pink, and he looked like he wanted to say something back but didn’t have the words.</p><p>Sakura, in too good a mood to let the matter die, continued to tease him. Her heart sped up whenever he blushed or stumbled over his words. There was no denying that she was attracted to him. Syaoran was handsome—that much was a given. He was a trained martial artist, after all. He could easily pick her up to keep her from danger, and she’d seen him in enough of Tomoyo’s outfits to know there was sturdy muscle hiding under the school uniform her wore every day. When he fought, Sakura saw beauty in his strength, something mature and dangerous. In moments like this, though, what she saw was more akin to boyish cuteness. The two were polar opposites, but Sakura thought that was part of what made Syaoran so special. Sometimes she imagined the two bleeding together so that he would blush when he picked her up in battle or use some of his battle courage to, in moments similar to this one, take her by the waist and—</p><p>Sakura abruptly halted the dangerous line of thinking.</p><p>Syaoran was muttering something in front of her, speaking too soft and quick for her to understand. From what she could tell, he seemed to be trying to apologetically make sense of his behavior during their first month or so of knowing each other.</p><p>“Syaoran,” she said as she squeezed the hand that was already in hers. It effectively cut him off. “I was teasing you. I’m sorry. Please don’t take it seriously.”</p><p>Syaoran visibly relaxed. Once again, he looked like he was about to say something, but nothing came out. Instead, he jerked to attention like an animal hearing the snap of a branch. He looked troubled, eyebrows knitting together. Then his face morphed into confusion and alarm before finally going blank.</p><p>Sakura started to say his name and reach up out of habit to make sure he was alright when in one swift motion, he grabbed her around the waist and yanked her forward so that she stumbled towards him. She didn’t even have time to catch herself before he dipped down and caught her lips in a bruising kiss.</p><p>“Mn!” A muffled sound of surprise tried to escape Sakura’s throat, but it was caught between her own lips and his. On instinct, she yanked her hand from his and tried to push his shoulders back. His grip on her was too firm, though. For the briefest moment, he did pull away. Sakura gasped—be it due to shock or lack of air, she didn’t know. Then he caught her jaw in his fingers, slanted his face, and slotted his mouth more securely against hers.</p><p>Everything was happening so fast that Sakura didn’t have time to think. Her instincts were screaming that it was wrong, but her body was quick to accept him.</p><p>On some level, she was aware that Syaoran wasn’t this aggressive. He was soft and sweet, not firm and bruising. His movements were too urgent and forceful for a first kiss. Not a moment ago, he’d been blushing and fumbling over his words. But Sakura couldn’t properly fathom such things when all she could feel was the security of his hold and the movement of his lips over hers.</p><p>Then, without making the conscious thought to do so, Sakura was kissing him back. He’d eased up, but she still struggled to fall into rhythm with him. She didn’t have any experience doing these things. As much as she wanted to reciprocate his eagerness, she struggled to do so.</p><p>Then his tongue slid against her bottom lip, and there was panic and arousal and a jumbled mess of <em>oh god, oh god, oh god</em>. She was in way over her head. She tried to come up for air, but he didn’t let her. His grip got painful again, and suddenly she felt trapped. The ensuing panic is what finally made her realize how wrong all of it was. This wasn’t Syaoran. She tried to shove him again and turn away, but his hand clenched down hard on her jaw, and in that moment of terrifying failure, Sakura did that last thing she could think of. She bit him.</p><p>“Ah!”</p><p>He shoved her away and practically flew backwards. Sakura stumbled before collapsing onto the sidewalk while Syaoran staggered back, head dropping and hand coming up to clamp down over his mouth. They were both panting and disoriented, but Syaoran was quick to disregard the sudden searing pain.</p><p>“Sakura!” He rushed back to her and dropped to his knees. “I’m so sorry! Something came over me—I couldn’t control my body.”</p><p>Sakura nodded, still shaken. She accepted the explanation instantly. She should have realized while it was happening, she thought. Syaoran looked absolutely mortified.</p><p>“Are you alright? I’m sorry for pushing you. Are you bleeding?”</p><p>Sakura shook her head, even before she inspected her hands. When she did, she found them scraped, but the skin wasn’t broken enough to bleed. “What was that?” she asked numbly.</p><p>Syaoran finally took a moment to glance around. “Definitely a card. I felt it right before, too.”</p><p>“Well,” Sakura found herself saying, “at least we know they’re still out and about.”</p><p>Syaoran barely had time to give her a perplexed look before the shouting came from down the sidewalk.</p><p>“Sakura! Kid!” The pair turned to discover Kero soaring down the street towards them. “Red alert! Card on the loose!” He halted mid-air beside them, eyes darting between the two. “It was already here, wasn’t it? What’d it do?”</p><p>Sakura ignored his questions in favor of asking, “Did you see it?”</p><p>Kero looked exasperated. He threw a paw to his forehead and swooned. “It was horrible! I was about to indulge in the last bite of that cheesecake Sakura’s dad brought home a few days ago when I thought—a completely innocent thought!—how nice it would be if there were more. Next thing I knew, the one bite turned into the size of Sakura’s room! Literally! I almost suffocated.” Mumbling, he tacked on, “It was delicious getting out, but still.”</p><p>Syaoran frowned. “It turned what you wanted into a reality.”</p><p>He and Sakura came to the realization at the same instant, their eyes snapping to each other.</p><p>Syaoran’s continued look of mortification terrified Sakura. She could easily guess what he was thinking. She would’ve been wrong, but she could still guess. The reality was that they both thought the incident had been their fault. Sakura because she'd let herself begin to fantasize about a similar scenario, and Syaoran because honestly, when wasn't he thinking about how much he wanted to shower Sakura with adoration? Sakura was the quicker of the two to voice her guilt.</p><p>"I didn't mean it like that! Oh, I'm sorry, Syaoran. I didn't mean for it to go that far."</p><p>Syaoran stared at her for a good while, trying to process what she was implying. "What were you thinking?" he found himself asking. It was almost a plea.</p><p>Sakura blushed a deep crimson, dropped her gaze, and fiddled with the hem of her skirt. She didn't want to admit her passing fantasies to Syaoran! It was humiliating. She wasn't even sure if he knew she liked him in that way.</p><p>...But it was because of her thought that he'd lost control over himself and done something that neither of them could take back.</p><p>Sakura shoved her hands into her lap and forced herself to glance guilty up at Syaoran. She still wasn't able to hold his gaze for long, but she did her best. "I was thinking what it would be like. If you were more assertive outside of battle. I sort of...imagined you grabbing me and—except I stopped myself before I really thought it." She let her head drop again. "I'm sorry."</p><p>By the time she finished, Syaoran was even more flustered than Sakura. She thought of him doing those things with her. Did she want him to be more forward? Did she know he had feelings for her? He almost wanted to laugh at his last thought. Of course she knew he liked her to some degree! He was well aware that he lit up like a traffic light whenever he got too flustered around her.</p><p>“We don’t have time for this,” Kero said, cutting off Syaoran's thoughts. He clearly didn't want anything to do with what was going on between them. “Put the teenage angst on the back burner. We gotta catch that card before it hurts someone!” He zoomed down the street again, not waiting for the others.</p><p>“Kero! What if someone sees you?” Sakura called, composing herself. Kero was right. She couldn't worry about what this meant for her and Syaoran right now.</p><p>Kero had spun around and was back at her side within seconds.</p><p>“And how do you know where to go?” Sakura asked.</p><p>“I can sense it. You can’t?”</p><p>“No, nothing.”</p><p>“What about you, Kid?”</p><p>Syaoran frowned and closed his eyes. They waited in silence for several seconds, and Sakura watched his face twitch before he opened his eyes again. “It’s coming from the school.”</p><p>“Tomoyo!” Sakura grabbed Kero, jumped to her feet, and started back the way they'd come. She couldn’t sprint freely with the scattered patches of ice, but she managed a power walk that was about as fast as a slow jog.</p><p>When Syaoran caught up to her, he slid his hand into hers and stayed close enough that their inner arms could press together. “You’ll trip going that fast.”</p><p>She tried not to show how startled she was. “You’re one to talk,” Sakura instinctively retorted. When she saw his lips turn ever-so-subtly upwards, she realized he was probably just trying to make her more comfortable. She held tighter and pushed onwards.</p><p>When they finally made it to the school, all three magically-sensitive parties could feel the card in full force. They split up upon re-entering the building so that Syaoran could get Tomoyo while Sakura and Kero went after the card. Syaoran had initially objected, but one stern look from Sakura sent him sprinting towards the music room.</p><p>“Be careful. The card seems to need people to work, so you’re going to have to be careful about not being seen while catching it.”</p><p>Sakura nodded.</p><p>Finding the card turned out to be easier than anyone would have guessed. They were almost to the library when screams erupted from inside and the doors burst open. A girl running out tripped in her rush and glanced over her shoulder at something Sakura couldn’t see. She flattened herself to the ground and covered her head with her arms like they did during earthquake drills. Then a jet of fire burst through the library doors.</p><p>Some of the other students who had made it out of the library looked back. “Rei!” one of them shouted, though they were rooted in place.</p><p>Thankfully, when the fire ceased, the girl stood up, clearly stunned that she was alright, and she sprinted down the hall, right past Sakura. The magician glanced back to make sure everyone was around the corner before she pulled out the Clow key. There was banging coming from inside the library, and then a giant creature sprang out into the hall just as the fire alarm went off and the staff finished growing in Sakura’s hand. She almost screamed at the suddenness of it all. Alarms were blaring all around her, but in front of her was a dragon. A ten-foot-tall, scaly, green, fire-breathing dragon!</p><p>If Sakura were the type to curse, she would’ve been doing so repetitively while flailing around in a panic. Instead, she took one long look at the creature, turned tail, and ran.</p><p>“What are you doing?” Kero yelled, poking his head out from her backpack. As soon as he saw the dragon, he yelped and started pounding on her back. “Watery! Watery!”</p><p>“I’m looking—Here!” Sakura pulled out the card from her side-bag and spun around in time to see the dragon on its hind legs with its head pulled back. “Watery!” The card burst to life at the same time as the dragon opened its mouth and lurched forward, red flames erupting from its maw. Water and fire crashed against each other in the middle of the hall, but watery easily won. It pushed through the flames, extinguishing them in its path, until it reached the dragon and wound itself around the creature’s body. Sakura was reaching for the sword card when the dragon began to glow gold before it swirled into a glittering trail of mist and vanished down the hall. All that was left were several flames that licked the edges of the hall. Watery made quick work of them.</p><p>“What just happened?” Sakura asked aloud.</p><p>“The spell must have worn off. Or the card found a new target. Follow it!”</p><p>“Right!” She sprang back into action. Watery returned to her side in card-form as she ran past it. The new card moved too fast for Sakura to keep up with, but she sensed when it stopped somewhere on the other side of the building. She ran past several groups of students trying to escape the building on her way. None of them seemed to be paying enough attention to notice her running by carrying a large, pink staff. Thankfully. That would’ve made for an awkward conversation come Monday.</p><p>She could sense the card in a room down the hall when a familiar face came flying around the corner and almost ran right into her. “Sakura!” Tomoyo grabbed the other girl’s arms.</p><p>“Tomoyo! Where’s Syaoran?”</p><p>“Fighting you. In the music room!”</p><p>“What?” Sakura didn’t wait for an explanation; she side-stepped Tomoyo and ran the rest of the way to the room. Sure enough, when she threw the door aside, she came face-to-face with the sight of Syaoran bringing up his sword to block a blow from her doppelganger.</p><p>“Get away from him! Woody!” The card emerged to capture the girl in its limbs. Sakura took the time to run to Syaoran’s side. “Are you alright?”</p><p>He nodded once. “You?”</p><p> “Same.”</p><p>At that point, the second Sakura was thrashing about in her new prison of tree-limbs. She tried to use her sword replica of the sword card to cut through the appendages, but it was to no avail.</p><p>“It doesn’t seem to be a particularly strong card, but it certainly can make a mess,” Kero commented. He flew out of Sakura’s bag when he saw that the coast was clear. Tomoyo was hovering in the doorway. The real Sakura noted her other self’s attire: a frilly, pale-pink dress with white lacing and ballet flats with ribbons winding up her legs and tied in bows at the back. Her hair was even cutely curled in a way that took Sakura an hour in the bathroom to achieve. She looked over to where her best friend was standing.</p><p>“Was this you?” she asks skeptically, pointing at the beautified version of herself.</p><p>Tomoyo made puppy-dog eyes. “When the fire alarm went off, I got worried. I just wanted you to be here to protect us, not attack Li-kun.”</p><p>“And the outfit?” Sakura teased.</p><p>Tomoyo smiled guiltily.</p><p>“Sakura, the card,” Kero reminded her.</p><p>It snapped her out of her teasing, and she refocused on the card. “My bad. Alright, you’ve caused enough trouble for one day.” The card had stopped moving like most cards did when they were ready to be sealed. Sakura stepped up to it and positioned her staff in front of her. She was about to secure it when it lifted its head, and for a brief moment she was staring at her own face as it glared up at her with a maniacal glint in its eye.</p><p>She didn’t have time to step out of the sword’s path.</p><p>“Sakura!” Syaoran’s hand clamped down around her elbow and yanked her backwards. All Sakura saw was the tip of the sword jutting out towards her and barely missing. She watched as the card with her face smiled, despite its failure, and dissipated into golden dust.</p><p>Before any of them could react, the space around Sakura and Syaoran shifted, and the world to them began to darken. Sakura took a step back towards Syaoran, but the ground beneath her feet was shaped wrong, and it moved when she did. It threw both parties off balance, and they lost their footing. The space around them turned completely black as they fell. Syaoran pulled Sakura close and braced for impact, but when his back met something solid, it was soft and cushioned and curved. Glancing around revealed that they were trapped inside some sort of black ball. The walls, despite being opaque, gave off a dim light that let the pair see each other.</p><p>Sakura pushed herself up so that she wasn’t laying on top of Syaoran and glance around through the hairs that had gotten flung into her face. When she realized they were trapped inside a ball, she looked down at Syaoran and shoved as much of her hair behind her ears as she could.</p><p>“Is this one you?” she asked, trying to keep her voice steady despite her fluttering heart.</p><p>Syaoran frowned and tried to shift but wound up as a blushing mess when he brought his leg up, pushing Sakura’s skirt up and grazing her underwear. She gasped and lurched forward.</p><p>“Sorry!” He lowered his leg again. “I’m sorry. Did I hurt you?”</p><p>Sakura continued to breath heavily, trying to calm her racing heart. “No.”</p><p>“A-are you sure?”</p><p>“Syaoran.” Her voice was a plea. She’d already made a fool of herself in front of him once today. Her poor heart could only take so much.</p><p>He swallowed hard and nodded.</p><p>“What were you just thinking?”</p><p>“Nothing exactly. I was trying to protect you.”</p><p>Oh. Sakura tried not to blush, but she was pretty sure she was failing. His desire to protect her must have resulted in them being trapped together in this soft bubble where nothing could hurt them.</p><p>…Well. Nothing but themselves and their own embarrassment.</p><p>Sakura reached for her staff. She’d dropped it so that she’d be able to brace herself against the curved walls.</p><p>“Return to the form you were meant to be in!” She tried to angle the staff as best she could to gain momentum as she swung. “Clow Card!”</p><p>Relief washed over them when the dark orb surrounding them began to get pulled towards Sakura’s staff. The card was still forming when the ground beneath them gave way again. Syaoran dropped an inch and smacked his head lightly against the ground—nothing too painful. Sakura, on the other hand, had been pushing partially outwards in the ball, so once it was gone, her hand pushed out into nothing before sliding against the ground. She didn’t even bother to hold herself up this time. Syaoran didn’t seem to mind, though.</p><p>“Whoa, are you kids alright?” Kero swooped down in front of them. Tomoyo rushed up behind him and knelt down next to them.</p><p>Sakura gave a thumbs up, and Syaoran lifted his arms around her so that he could return his sword to his body. When it was imbedded in him again, he draped one arm over Sakura and dropped the other over his forehead.</p><p>"You gonna get up?” Kero prodded.</p><p>“I think we need a minute.”</p><p>The guardian rolled his eyes. “Humans.”</p><p>“Come on, Kero,” Tomoyo chimed in. “We should go make sure everyone else is safe.”</p><p>“Fine. I want cake afterwards, though.”</p><p>Kero followed Tomoyo out of the classroom. Syaoran let out a sigh when he couldn’t hear them anymore and looked down at the top of Sakura’s head.</p><p>“Are you sure you’re alright?”</p><p>There was a long stretch of silence before she muttered, “No,” into his uniform.</p><p>Syaoran, despite enjoying Sakura’s weight pressed down on top of him, forced them both to sit upright. Sakura lifted her leg from between his when he did, and she pushed herself onto her knees beside him. Once they were both upright, they looked at one another, though they struggled to maintain eye contact. Syaoran wanted to be sure Sakura was going to be alright, but after everything he’d accidentally done to her, he was afraid he wouldn’t be able to make it up to her. Still, seeing her the way she was broke his heart.</p><p>“I’m sorry for everything that’s happened. If you want, I can stay away from you for a while.”</p><p>“No,” Sakura burst out. She composed herself before explaining. “<em>I’m </em>sorry. It’s my fault the card possessed you. You have every reason to be furious at me.” She dropped her gaze, ashamed of what she’d done. She really hadn’t meant to do it, of course. She didn’t know the passing thought would force him to commit such an intimate act, but she couldn’t take back the fact that it had.</p><p>Syaoran was torn. He’d been dancing around his crush on her for over a month now, trying to figure out if it was a silly infatuation that would pass or if it was something more. He was pretty sure he knew, but truthfully, it didn’t matter that much. Either way, his feelings were real. All it came down to was whether or not he could start something with his rival in collecting the Clow Cards. He was already bias, his heart not fully in the chase (most of what he did, he did for Sakura’s sake without any thought of how it would benefit him), but if he committed to her, he knew he wouldn’t be able to continue competing with her.</p><p>“I’m not mad.” He inhaled and held his breath, eyes dipping to where her hand was resting against the ground. He was slow as he reached out with his own hand and slid a few of his fingers between hers. Her fingers twitched, bumping against his. It gave him the courage to lift his palm up, and when he was about to rest it over top of hers, she turned hers over so that their palms overlapped. When he looked up, he found her watching him from just below her bangs. He smiled a little. “If it had targeted me instead, our roles would’ve been reversed.”</p><p><em>There</em>, he thought. He’d said it. Sakura’s mouth formed a little ‘o’. After several moments of mutual blushing and Sakura rubbing circles into the back of Syaoran’s hand, she finally spoke again.</p><p>“It was my first time,” she admitted.</p><p>It was all the explanation he needed. He’d technically been kissed before, but he’d never initiated or even participated in such activities until today. They’d both been cheated out of their first real kiss. But…</p><p>“We could have a do-over.”</p><p>Sakura’s head snapped up, eyes fluttering.</p><p>“Really?”</p><p>He met her gaze. She looked and sounded so hopeful. His heart felt like it was oozing from the overexposure to her sweetness. He nodded.</p><p>They were already sitting close, but Sakura shuffled even closer—close enough that her knee bumped into his thigh. “Is this—alright?”</p><p>“Yeah,” he whispered, shocked by the steadiness of his own voice. His heart was pounding wildly, but Sakura’s hand in his helped to keep him grounded. She was all that mattered right now.</p><p>He shifted his weight to get closer to her at the same time that she leaned forward at the waist. As a result, they came close enough that they almost accidentally bumped noses. Sakura was so startled that she almost pulled back, but Syaoran squeezed her hand to sooth her. Her lips twitched up in silent thanks, and his eyes went doughy in the way Sakura loved. She leaned in, her eyes dipping to his lips. He followed her lead, both of them halting when their noses brushed together. Sakura finally let her eyes fall shut. Syaoran let himself remember—through hooded eyes—as much detail about that moment as he could. He never wanted to forget this feeling. She inhaled, and her fingers barely twitched in his. He only waited a single heartbeat more before closing his eyes and the last bit of distance between them.</p><p>Everything about it was different from before. There was no urgency or force—just tenderness. The first kiss only lasted a few seconds, but neither of them wanted to pull back, so they met again for another, and their lips barely met on the third, so Syaoran brought up a hand to her face to help guide them. His thumb grazed the very surface of her skin, starting near the corner of her mouth and stopping before it reached the edge of her jaw. She brought her own free hand up as he did. It was subconscious until she felt his shoulder under her fingertips.</p><p>After the fifth meeting of their lips, Syaoran gently pulled away. Sakura’s eyes fluttered open to meet his. If it was possible, his expression had become even more gentle than before. He was smiling at her with a barely-present but all-consuming upward turn of his lips. Soon, Sakura was mirroring his lovesick expression, though her smile was wider. She leaned her cheek into the touch of his hand.</p><p>It was almost too much for Sakura’s fragile heart to bear. She swept in one last time for a final peck, and when she pulled away, there was a coy glint in her eyes that made Syaoran’s smile turn from unadulterated adoration to amusement. He nudged the tip of her nose with his before withdrawing and letting his hand drop from her face.</p><p>“We should go find the others,” he told her, his voice still barely above a whisper.</p><p>Sakura pouted.</p><p>Syaoran picked himself up off the floor, still holding her hand. “Daidouji will worry.”</p><p>She sighed in defeat. “And Kero will throw a fit if he doesn’t get his cake.” She let him help her up from the floor before they let go of each other’s hands. Sakura shrank the staff back to its key form, and when she looked up again, there was a Clow Card in front of her face.</p><p>“Wouldn’t want to forget this.”</p><p>Sakura took the card from between his fingers. ‘The Desire’ it said at the bottom. She shook her head and slid it into her card pouch without further thought. It was a reckless card to be sure, but she couldn’t say it was all bad. Even though it seemed prone to twisting people’s desires into something that would do more harm than good (like a genie-in-a-bottle situation), it ultimately brought her and Syaoran closer, and she couldn’t complain about that, no matter how unorthodox the methods had been.</p><p>When she looked up again, Syaoran was watching her with his hand out in offering. There was no ice to worry about this time. Sakura easily threaded her fingers with his, and they left the room hand-in-hand, side-by-side.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Not gonna lie, I considered having Tomoyo pop up at the end there to be like, "Psych! I got all that on camera!"</p></blockquote></div></div>
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